Tampa General breaks ground on new hospital

Tampa General Hospital's Behavioral Health Hospital, a new four-story hospital in the heart of Tampa's Medical and Research District, broke ground on Monday, as officials from Tampa General Hospital, Lifepoint Behavioral Health and USF Health came together with elected officials with shovels to throw dirt at the site.

The TGH Behavioral Health Hospital is expected to open in late 2024, say TGH officials, and will be the first and only free-standing academic medical behavioral health hospital in Florida.

John Couris, hospital CEO, says as the Tampa Bay region grows, "the demand for mental and behavioral health services is higher than ever before. … The TGH Behavioral Health Hospital will significantly expand Floridians' access to mental health services, and our patients can expect the world-class care we consistently deliver at TGH."

The behavioral health hospital is a joint venture between TGH and Lifepoint Behavioral Health, a business unit of Brentwood, Tennessee-based Lifepoint Health.

Tampa General Hospital will provide a number of facility and medical support services while Lifepoint Behavioral Health will manage the day-to-day operations, the two health companies say.

The University of South Florida's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences within the Morsani College of Medicine will provide physicians' services via inpatient and outpatient care, in specialized units for pediatrics, adolescents, adults and geriatrics.

The hospital, which is planned to be approximately 83,000 square feet with 96 to 120 inpatient beds, will feature dedicated units for treating patients with behavioral health issues compounded by other medical conditions, officials say.

The facility was made possible in part by funding from the state of Florida to address the state's growing mental health crisis, TGH officials say. This past legislative session, $10 million in the state budget was spent to support the construction of the TGH Behavioral Health Hospital. It will be located in South Tampa within the Medical and Research District, adjacent to the recently opened free-standing emergency department – TGH Kennedy Emergency Center – and the TGH Rehabilitation Hospital, which is located at 1307 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa.